A Vampire's Unlikely Alliance (Demon's Witch Series Book 3)

by Tena Stetler

  Brandy leaned her head against the couch and closed her eyes, listening. “You’re right. That sound fits the song much better. Do you play other instruments?”

  “Keyboards. They’re set up in the corner of my office next to the computer. I use them sometimes to finish the song after working out the basics on my guitar.” He played several more tunes before the tension of the day began to fade away. Brandy’s tight, drawn lips relaxed into a slight smile. Stefan put the guitar away and gathered her in his arms.

  Resting back against the couch, he slid an arm around her shoulders as he curled a soft strand of her red hair around his fingers. “Rough day, huh?”

  Without opening her eyes, she laid her head on his shoulder and sighed, “Uh-huh, but what a wonderful way to end it.”

  “Why don’t you hop in the shower while I tend to a few loose ends in the office? I’d like to get you settled before I head into work. When I leave this time, I’ll turn the security system on. You can move around anywhere inside, but it will go off if any of the doors or windows are breached, notifying the local authorities and me. I didn’t set it last night because I was afraid you’d go outside or open a window and set it off, being unaware it was on.”

  “I have a sunrise hike tomorrow, so show me how to disarm it. I may be gone by the time you return.” She glanced at the alarm panel.

  He frowned, narrowing his eyes. “Do you think that is a good idea?”

  “I have a job and I want to keep it.”

  The muscle in his jaw twitched as he clinched his mouth shut. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh and reached for a pen and pad, scribbled a set of numbers on the paper, then demonstrated disarming the security system. “Please check in with me when you leave. I’ll see you after you get off.”

  “You got it.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Don’t Turn Your Back on a Synn

  During the ensuing weeks, when Stefan arrived for work, Synn was always with Cody under the pretense of doing production work. True to his word, Cody insisted she leave with him amid her protests or excuses why she should stay. Stefan aggressively spurned her advances.

  That evening, when Stefan arrived for his shift, Synn wasn’t there.

  “Hey, where’s your shadow?”

  “I cut her loose. Let me shuffle a couple of songs here for a longer play. We need to talk.”

  Working at the computer, Cody rearranged the playlist, appearing deep in thought.

  Whatever was bothering Cody, Stefan surmised it was bad. He leaned back against the counter, elbows resting against the counter’s top, foot propped against the front of the cabinet. “What’s up?”

  Cody turned from the computer, eyes dark and forehead lined with deep creases, the vein at his temple pulsing in time with his heartbeat. “That woman is scary. The look in her eyes when she doesn’t get what she wants is unnatural. I’m telling you.” He ran his hand through his hair and rubbed at the back of his neck. “She’s way too interested in Brandy and you. She tried to wheedle confidential information about you two out of everyone at the station. Son, you two don’t have any connection to her, do you?”

  “Nope, never saw her before the morning Russ introduced us. If Brandy knew her, she would have said something.” Stefan shifted against the counter uneasily.

  Cody blew out a breath and shook his head. “Watch yourself and Brandy too. That woman is up to no good. I’ve had a word with Russ. She’s can’t be in here after hours anymore. But I don’t think Russ is taking me seriously. She’s got him wrapped around her little finger.”

  Stefan cocked a dark brow and studied Cody. “Thanks for the warning. She’s not here now?”

  “No, I walked her outside at the beginning of my shift and locked the door after her.” Cody picked up his jacket and walked toward the control room door. “I’ll do another check of the offices and production room before I leave. Have a good night.”

  For the first couple of hours of his shift, Stefan paced the control room floor and watched the windows and door. Something wasn’t right, but as the night wore on, he relaxed some.

  Using his cell phone, he checked on Brandy, then settled into the rest of his shift, leaving only once. He thought he heard a phone ring but couldn’t locate his cell. Maybe he’d carried it into the office when he’d picked up some paperwork earlier. He’d check after this stop set.

  ****

  As Stefan flipped on the mic, he saw a shadow move out of the corner of his eye. He rushed through the stop set, yanked off his headphones, and started toward the door. She stood outside the glass door to the control room, holding his cell phone up, waving it from side to side in her hand.

  Turning the knob, she sauntered in. “Good morning, Stefan,” she purred, continuing toward him until she was standing in front of him, her breasts brushing against his muscular chest. The woman wrapped her arms around his neck in an attempt to bring her lips to his. Cody’s warning reverberated in his brain. He carefully brought his arms up through hers and broke the hold. “Synn, you’re a beautiful woman, but I’m already in a relationship.”

  “Pity.” She didn’t back away. Instead, she held his phone and toggled it back and forth in her hand again. “We had a really nice talk earlier. Told her you were too busy to talk to her.” Synn shrugged. “She hung up.”

  Lunging at her, he grabbed for the phone. It slipped out of her grasp and clattered to the floor. She drew a bloodied dagger from her coat pocket and threw herself at him, straining for his throat with the weapon. In a blur of motion, he stepped sideways, caught her by the shoulders, and shoved her across the room.

  The chair he’d been sitting in moments before crashed against the opposite wall. The papers he’d held in his hand fluttered to the floor. Stefan slammed her viciously against the wall, knocking the dagger to the floor. He stepped on the dagger with his booted foot and forced his forearm against her throat, holding her up against the wall.

  “I like the rough stuff, but we probably should wait until you’re off shift,” she cooed seductively, completely unaffected by the situation.

  In a split second, his fangs unsheathed and claws pierced his fingertips, raking against the wall as he rasped menacingly, “I’m tired of your games. Whatever you’re offering, I’m not interested in your kind. Get the hell out of here. Leave Brandy and I alone, or you won’t live to regret it. Am I making myself clear?” In his anger and frustration, the fear of his secret being discovered was gone. “Crystal,” she snarled, her lips curling to show sharp, pointed teeth as she struggled to loosen his hold and said sweetly, “Tell Brandy it was nice talking to her.” Before he could crush her windpipe, she disappeared from his hold and the room without a trace.

  He briefly considered searching for her but instead snatched up the station phone to call Brandy. There was no answer, and he waited for the beep. “Brandy, don’t answer the door and deadbolt it. Make sure all the windows are locked. We need to talk. I’m leaving now.” He switched the computer to program so it would play all the commercials and songs automatically without his intervention. Russ could fire him for leaving the station unattended, but he had to make sure Brandy was okay. He grabbed his coat just as Russ strode in the door.

  Russ stared at the damage inside the control room. “What happened in here?”

  Stefan stopped midstride and paused to glance at Russ. “No time to explain.” He pushed past Russ.

  Russ grabbed his coat sleeve. “The side door was breached. The alarm company called to say they couldn’t reach anyone here at the station. Did the phone ring?”

  “No, not once all night.” Stefan paused. Had Synn cut the phone lines? He jerked free. “Brandy isn’t answering her phone. I gotta get home. I’ll come back later to clear out my locker if necessary. Or have Cody collect my stuff. I’ll contact him to pick it up.” He stopped long enough to look Russ in the eye. “I’m sorry for the way things turned out.”

  Stefan sprinted out the station door into the inky darkness and was at the c
abin door in seconds, his key in the lock. Before he flung open the door, he felt the fury of her mind. Yet he was unprepared for what greeted him.

  Brandy stood in the center of the room, face flushed with fury, her green eyes rimmed red, and coppery feathers sprouted around her face, which began to blur. “Couldn’t wait, could you?” Brandy raised her hand as her talons emerged, blood dripping from her fingertips. She slapped him. The blow aimed at his face caught only his shoulder as he turned away, wincing.

  “What in the hell are you talking about?” Surprise, shock, then anger vibrated through him. He stepped back, arms at his sides. “Brandy, you don’t understand. Synn stole…”

  “Like hell I don’t.” She swung again with such fury that she lost her balance and fell against him.

  As he reached for her, his claws broke though the calluses on his fingertips. He grabbed for her shoulders to shake some sense into her, but she twisted, again falling forward into his claws, slicing her shoulder. A dark-red stain seeped through her white shirt as the sweet scent of her blood filled the air.

  He hadn’t hunted recently, and the scent of her warm, fragrant blood drove his desire for blood out of control. Pinning her against the wood paneling, his hand fisted her hair. He yanked her head back and bared her neck as his fangs pricked the smooth skin over her jugular.

  “Stefan, stop!” she screamed, her panicked voice finally cutting through the red haze of bloodlust in his brain.

  He released her. She slid to the floor, then scrambled to her feet, backing away from him. They looked at each other, eyes wide in shock and disbelief as both returned to their human forms, appalled at the damage they’d inflicted on each other.

  Stefan moved toward her. She held up her hand, her entire body shaking, face pale as she pointed toward the door. “Get out.”

  The last thing he’d wanted to do was hurt her. But he had. She was wrong about him, and she’d paid the price. He sprinted to his truck and yanked open the door. By the time he paused to take one last look, the door was already closed. He shoved the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life. He stomped on the gas pedal, and the truck fishtailed down the road, throwing gravel in its wake.

  ****

  Brandy stood in the cabin, watching the blood seep through her shirt. How had things gone so terribly wrong so fast? She wanted to sob, scream, and curse. She wanted to blame Stefan but couldn’t, knowing that it wasn’t his fault any more than it was hers. She was so angry—with him and herself for letting someone else fulfill his needs when it should have been her. No, she wasn’t thinking clearly.

  Peeling off her shirt, she walked into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and stepped inside, letting the warm water wash over her. It stung as she watched the crimson water flow down the drain. The gashes were not serious, not like the damage she’d caused to their relationship.

  As her anger subsided, a devastating realization dawned. In her fit of temper, she’d never given him a chance to explain what really happened. She remembered him saying Synn stole…stole what? Oh God, what have I done?

  The grim reality sank in. They were two magical creatures with inherently dangerous abilities and tempers to match. Yet, at the peak of his bloodlust, he’d stopped because he’d heard her pleas. He cared deeply for her. Would he ever admit it to himself? She didn’t know and, right now, didn’t care. What she did know was that they both needed time and space to heal the emotional wounds as well as the physical.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Life Sucks, Then You Die—Unless You’re a Vampire.

  Using his parks pass at one of the unmanned entry points to the park, Stefan drove the familiar roads. Finally he pulled to a stop at an isolated area near Glacier Lake. He slumped in the seat, closed his eyes, and held his head in his hands as he let it fall back against the headrest. How did I let this happen? I’ve done nothing wrong. Never even considered accepting what Synn had offered for weeks. Yet Brandy assumed the worst. Why? Whether he liked it or not, the answer stared him right in the face. He’d been afraid to tell her what was in his heart, afraid of being hurt. He snorted. What a fool. Trust. In the end, it was something neither of them would risk.

  His shredded T-shirt was stained crimson and sticky against his skin. The wounds were already healing, but they had a strange golden tinge to them. He wound his way to the back side of the lake, stripped off his shirt, and rinsed it in the lake.

  The blue sky filled with fingers of orange as the sun set behind the mountains. He slowly returned to the truck, started the engine, and turned toward the main road leading back to the cabin. Her car was still there. Hope surged inside him. Could they fix this? No, he couldn’t put Brandy in danger any longer. He might have killed her.

  Trudging up the path to his cabin, he decided to pick up a few items of clothing and give her time to gather her things to clear out.

  As he climbed the stairs onto the porch, Brandy shoved open the door, duffle bag slung over her shoulder. He stepped out of her way, holding the door open, allowing her to pass. Voice tired and strained, she said, “Stefan, I’m going to my sister’s home and maybe on to Ireland. I’m not sure yet. You need to decide what is important to you and what you are willing to do to get it. I know what I want, but it’s not good for me. The feelings I have for…well…I’ve got some decisions to make also, and I can’t do it here, not now.” Her eyes, clouded with sadness, shifted to his and back to the ground. “I’ve talked to Randy and taken a leave of absence. Please don’t look for me.”

  She walked down the path and out of his life. She was right, and he knew it. Standing in the doorway, he watched her get into her car and drive away until her car’s taillights became tiny red dots bobbing in the darkness. He closed the door and with it his heart, his life, and any chance of happiness.

  Walking over to the couch where they’d sat hours earlier, so happy, he eased down and slumped over, his elbows resting on his legs and head cradled between his hands. He let out a low, guttural sound and leaned back, pressing his fingers to his eyes. Time to move on. There’s nothing left for me here.

  As he got to his feet slowly and headed toward the bathroom, a loud knock sounded at the door. Fuck, what now? He yanked open the door and stared in surprise at Russ standing on the porch.

  Russ’s eyes widened, jaw dropped, and he took a couple of steps backward. He inhaled sharply and stared openly at the healing wound on Stefan’s neck, his damp, shredded shirt, and stained jeans. “God, man, what happened to you?”

  Stefan sighed deeply, shook his head, and said in a low, gravelly voice, “You don’t want to know. What can I do for you, Russ?” Stefan stepped out on the porch with Russ and closed the door.

  Russ’s forehead wrinkled and his eyes filled with concern. Stefan’s voice had never sounded so rough nor had such despair in it. “I came by hoping you could shed some light on what the hell happened this morning. We found Cody unconscious in the production room after you bolted out the door. He didn’t remember much except seeing Synn standing in front of him.”

  An incredulous look crossed Stefan’s face as his eyes narrowed. “You what? Is he all right?”

  “Yeah, he’ll be fine. Nothing more than a bad headache and a row of stitches. Her knife didn’t penetrate very deep. He’s hoping you’ll be along shortly to relieve him.” Russ grinned uncertainly at Stefan. “He insisted on returning to work while I came to talk to you. After what you said, I wasn’t sure what to tell him. I can go back and relieve him, call Rocky in if I have to, but I don’t want to explain what happened to everyone yet. Telling Rocky will be like broadcasting it over the radio waves. The boy gossips worse than a bunch of old women.” Russ grimaced and shook his head.

  Stefan grunted and wiped the back of his hand across his face. “I’ll be there,” he said on a sigh. “But I can’t tell you any more than Cody already has.”

  “Yeah, he made the situation pretty clear. I’ve terminated Synn, called the police, and got a temporary restraining order agains
t her. It’ll be permanent at the next court hearing. She can’t come within one hundred feet of the station or any of its employees or their families.”

  “Good. Now, if you don’t mind, I really need to get ready for work.” A slight smile formed on Stefan’s lips. “I’ll finish Cody’s shift, pull mine, and see you or Rocky in the morning as usual. And thanks for respecting my privacy.” He turned and walked back into the house, closing the door behind him.

  ****

  Stefan walked through the control room door and stared at Cody. He had a bald place with stitches above his right ear that ran up to his temple. Stitches crisscrossed the back of his hand and arm. He had dark circles under his tired-looking eyes. “You look like shit.”

  Cody jumped and spun around. Apparently, he hadn’t heard Stefan come in. “Thanks. Good to see ya too.” Cody studied Stefan. “You don’t look so good yourself but better than when Russ saw you a little while ago.”

  “She’s gone, Cody.”

  “I figured. She loves you, and she’ll be back. Just give her time.” Cody clasped Stefan’s shoulder and crossed the room to pick up his jacket. He winced as he threw it over his shoulder. Hand on the doorknob, he turned back to Stefan. “You’re not like us, are you?”

  “No,” Stefan said flatly.

  “Didn’t think so. You know…it really doesn’t matter to me. If you need to talk, I’m available…anytime.” Cody turned around and lumbered slowly out the door, shutting it quietly behind him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Reunions Can Be Messy

  As spring turned to summer, then to early autumn, Stefan grew restless. How the holy hell did I wind up in this situation? Irritable, Stefan walked toward the Alpine Game Center as he had every night for the past couple of months. One minute he’d had a satisfying career and a comfortable, if frustrating, relationship with a woman. The next? I risked my job and lost Brandy. Why? Because he was unable to control his explosive temper, his arrogance, and his bloodlust. He’d nearly lost everything. Stupid bastard.